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THE BALLGAME – BRINGING HEAVEN TO EARTH
Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Matt 6:10 NKJV
The willingness to think deeply is a prerequisite to being led by the Spirit. I have no time for lazy people unless they want to get delivered of a spirit of sloth. Revelation that brings understanding is your mind and spirit becoming knitted with the Spirit of God, like the ten fingers of your two hands meshing. The art of thinking deeply and the art of constructive conversation are key character traits of those who really walk by the Spirit.
I am seeking the Lord to get revelation to solve what I consider to be some of the big problems of our time. I want my granddaughters to grow up in a better country, better world, than I have had. One question, among several, I have had of the Lord is this: “How do we crush the illegal drug trade in the United States?” The Lord’s prayer tells us that it is possible to bring Heaven to earth. So, let’s do it!
The Lord showed me that much of the illegal drug trade is funded indirectly through the trillions of dollars given annually to poor people in the USA by the federal government, money which is largely unaccounted for. If every payee was made to be held accountable for where that money was spent, by annual audits, or even monthly audits with punitive enforcement, we could cut the illegal drug sales, and a host of other moral and civil outrages, in half overnight.
I am a representative payee for a disabled person, and I endure two rigorous audits every year to account for all of the tens of thousands of dollars he receives. Not a dime of it is going to illegal drugs, and I can prove it!
More facets of that answer are still coming; for instance, how to implement it. I got some more about that, but I’m keeping it under wraps for now. We will get that, and we will do it.
I love movies. A lot of movies are prophetic and instructional. In the movie AMAZING GRACE, a group of people struggle with the problem of how to end the slave trade in the British Empire (do you love the idea of a ‘noble quest’? I do). They try many things, and fail for years, almost to the point of giving up…then someone gets a RHEMA word, they implement it, and the world changes dramatically for the better! A true story. God bless Mr. Wilberforce…
Look at the deep thinking of Ananias, and how he constructively converses with the Lord.
Now there was a certain disciple at Damascus named Ananias; and to him the Lord said in a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, “Here I am, Lord.” Acts 9:10 NKJV
Ananias was a true disciple of Jesus Christ. He wasn’t shocked when Jesus spoke to him. He perhaps saw his name written on the wall as if it were projected there. He knew that ‘My sheep hear My voice.’ He was not only ‘not shocked,’ but he was prepared to answer and obey the Lord immediately. I have seen myself unprepared to answer ‘God’s surprises,’ and I have repented and determined that will not happen again. And, it hasn’t.
But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready…1 Peter 3:15 NKJV
I love the detailed instruction here.
So the Lord said to him, “Arise and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus, for behold, he is praying. And in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias coming in and putting his hand on him, so that he might receive his sight.” Acts 9:11-12 NKJV
Ananias was listening quietly. He got the thorough instruction. Most excited young saints would hear the word ‘arise’ and immediately jump up and run off to some place. Ananias listened intently, considered what he heard, and then figured he had better respond before going out to obey.
Then Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much harm he has done to Your saints in Jerusalem. And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on Your name.” Acts 9:13-14 NKJV
Can’t you just see Ananias’ thinking? “Lord, don’t you think it would be a good idea for this guy to remain blind? After all, it was Your judgment that brought on the blindness in the first place! Then he won’t be able to hurt Your people…like me!”
The Lord listens to Ananias’ argument, and then responds with some stunning new information that blesses and frees His servant’s heart. Paul is now a born again one, a ‘chosen vessel,’ and he will have to suffer for the sake of the gospel in order to fulfill his calling.
But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel. For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name’s sake.” Acts 9:15-16 NKJV
Ananias needed to know that so that he could respond with faith. The Lord confides in those who fear Him. He reveals secrets. He imparts understanding so that His servants can operate in confidence and faith. He will do that for you!
Deep thinking and constructive conversations! Abraham and Moses come to mind…
…but Abraham still stood before the Lord. And Abraham came near and said, “Would You also destroy the righteous with the wicked? Gen 18:22-24 NKJV
This was Abraham’s great intercessional conversation with the Lord for Sodom and Gomorrah. If there ever was a civil and political problem, as well as a moral and spiritual one, it was Sodom and Gomorrah.
Here it says that Abraham ‘stood before the Lord.’ Robert Henderson teaches, and I think he is right, that this is a spiritual place, not a physical one. At times, as you enter into that secret place, you have the privilege to stand before the Lord. With that standing will come the authority to argue and counsel with the Lord. You can’t argue with an insecure person. But the Lord is totally secure, and therefore infinitely patient to hear and respond to your arguments. He is really wonderful in His willingness to help you to get understanding to the end that you have a light heart…
Now consider Moses and his conversation with the Lord about Israel…I think that anyone who has ever done anything worthwhile over a long period of time has moments when they just want to chuck it and walk away from the whole thing. But you wind up fighting for it…
And the Lord said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and indeed it is a stiff-necked people! Now therefore, let Me alone… Ex 32:9-10 NKJV
Remember the golden calf? This is the Lord’s and Moses’ conversation about the golden calf incident. The situation is desperate, and the Lord needs Moses to intercede for Israel, so He says, ”Let Me alone!” In other words, “Stop interceding!” knowing that Moses will do just the opposite. The Lord through the Holy Spirit is the master motivator. Believe me, He knows how to push your buttons…so many times over the years when I’ve wanted to quit, the Lord will show me something so outrageous that the enemy is doing, that I get angry, and tell the devil, “To hell with you! I’ll fight you to my last breath…” and I’m back in the ballgame. The master Motivator…
Look at Moses’ sweet, loving intercession, and how the Lord responds.
Then Moses pleaded with the Lord his God, and said: “Lord, why does Your wrath burn hot against Your people whom You have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? Why should the Egyptians speak, and say, ‘He brought them out to harm them, to kill them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth’? Turn from Your fierce wrath, and relent from this harm to Your people. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants, to whom You swore by Your own self, and said to them, ‘I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven; and all this land that I have spoken of I give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.'” So the Lord relented from the harm which He said He would do to His people. Ex 32:11-14 NKJV
Deep thinking and constructive conversations! Do you see it? It’s all part of being led by the Spirit. Don’t be dismayed by the circumstances you are in. We can turn the world upside down, dear one. Get back in the ballgame. Think deeply and talk boldly to the Lord. Stand before Him for His people. We can bring Heaven to earth. Amen? Love you!
Remember dear ones, we must be about our Father’s business…